Reinforcing hanger means for a collapsible wardrobe



REINFORCING HANGER MEANS FOR ACOLLAPSIBLE WARDROBE Filed Jan. 17, 1955D. T. LANE June 10, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LANE uvmvrm BY ,ul-

DAV U T.

A T TUHNE Y 0. 'r. LANE June 10, 1958 REINFORCING HANGER MEANS FOR ACOLLAPSIBLE WARDROBE Filed Jan. 17, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 DAVID T. I L ANE INVENTOR.

BY 19M ATTURNE Y United States Patent REINFORCING HANGER MEANS FOR ACOLLAPSIBLE WARDROBE David T. Lane, Dallas, Tex., assignor to LaneContainer 00., Dallas, Tex.

Application January 17, 1955, Serial No. 482,245

Claims. (Cl. 312-259 This invention relates to a shipping container ofreinrelied upon together with folded end sections or reinforced 1 lidsto impart the necessary rigidity.

Applicant has developed a combination of elements to provide a newstructure of high rigidity particularly suited to the transport ofclothing and which may readily be collapsed for shipping or storage whennot in use.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a rectangularcorrugated fiberboard tube having a closed end and an open end togetherwith wooden cleats extending inside and along the full height of saidtube and adhesively secured parallel to the sides thereof. The upper endof cleats are provided with dovetailed notches. A hanger bar, and ifdesired, a latching bar having dovetailed ends, are adapted forregistration in the dovetailed notches, not only to provide a hanger barwhich extends the length of the rectangular tube, but also to impartsubstantial rigidity to the structure, the hanger bar being so designedas to form a forced fit in.the dovetailed notches.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention an insert is providedfor supporting a rectangular fiberboard tube and comprises a pair of endelements having dimensions corresponding to opposed sides of thefiberboard tube and having hanger bars interconnecting the ends of theend sections to maintain them in a fixed spaced-apart relation. equal tothe length of the fiberboard tube. The ends of the hanger bars aredovetailed and adapted for a force fit in complementary notchesiin theends of the end members.

For a further understanding of the present invention 1 and for a morecomplete description thereof reference may now be had to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

Figure 1 is an isometric view of a closed wardrobe container;

Figure 2 is an exposed view of the wardrobe of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the end locking means for the hanger bars;

Fig. 4 is a top view of one of the supporting members;

Fig. 5 is a view of a modified wardrobe; and

Fig. 6 is an exposed view of a wardrobe having a removable insert.

Referring now to Figsfl and 2, a collapsible ward-- robe is illustratedas comprising a rectangular tube 10 of corrugated fiberboard and atelescoping cover 11. Tube 10 is closed at the bottom thereof by foldingflaps 13 which meet at the edges thereof when folded, com- The hangerbars have a length ill ice

pletely to close the bottom. When in use the flaps 13 may be glued orstitched to maintain them in place, but a preferred practice is tointerleave them to mutually lock them and yet permit collapsing the tube10 by unfolding the flaps 13 without damage thereto as to permit storageor shipping when not used as a wardrobe.

While the flaps of tube 10 and cover 11 contribute to rigidity ofstructure, applicant has found that two wooden cleats adhesively securedalong the full height of the tube together with a dovetail connection atthe upper ends of the cleats with the ends of a hanger bar not onlyprovides a support for clothes hangers, but-also permit greater loads tobe carried, greatly to strengthen the structure. More particularlycleats 15 and 16 are secured by adhesive in the region of the upper endof the cleats on to the side panels 17 and 18 respectively. In apreferred form the cleats 15 and 1-6 are secured by covering the entirearea of panels 17 and 18 which is cleats 15 and 16. A self-lockingcoupling between the bar 20 and cleats 15 and 16 is shown in Fig. 3. Atop view of one of the'cleats is shown in Fig. 4. The end of cleat 16,glued to side 13 (shown partially cut away), is provided with a dovetailnotch 21, the notch being wider adjacent side panel 18. The end ofhanger bar 20 is complementarily shaped as to fit snugly into notch 21.if desired, a locking bar 22 may be used, with suitably shaped ends tofit into not-ch 21. Bar 22 prevents clothes hangers supported by bar 20from being unlatched. A snug or press fit of bars 20 and 22 in theirassociated notches is provided greatly to contribute to the rigidity ofthe wardrobe. A flap 24 is provided at the upper end of one side of therectangular tube to facilitate filling the wardrobe. More particularly aline parallel to bar 20, when in normal position, is embossed in theside of the tube to permit flap 24 to be folded away from the open end,and the corners of the tube are slit or scored from the extremities ofsaid line to the end of the tube. Fig. 5 illustrates a wardrobe providedwith closure flaps at both the upper and lower ends thereof. As in themodification of Figs. 1 and 2, the wardrobe is provided with cleats 15and 16 which extend along the full height of the tube along with thehanger bar 20. However, an extra top such as top 11, Fig. 1, is notrequired. In Fig. 6 there is illustrated a wardrobe which includes atube of corrugated fiberboard which is adapted to be closed at its lowerend by flaps and is provided with a telescoping lid 31. An insertadapted to support articles of apparel comprises two wood framecorrugated fiber side panels 32 and 33, each of which is formed from asheet of corrugated fiberboard adhesively secured to a fiat rectangularwooden frame having upright members 36 and 37 and cross members 38, 39and 40. Both of the cross members 38 and 40 have dovetailed notchesprovided therein. A pair of cross bars 41 and 42 are provided withnotches ends which are complementary with the notches and are adapted tobe received in the notches with a press fit. By this means the endmembers are coupled together with substantial rigidity and are thusadapted to be inserted as a single unit into the corrugated tube. Thusthe hanger bars serve not only as a supporting member for articles ofapparel, but also to give form and rigidity to the insert itself.

The overall strength of the structure is greatly en hanced by thecombination of notched hangers in the complementary notches and theadhesive bonding between the corrugated panels and the wooden frame.

Having described the invention in connection with several modificationsthereof, it is to be understood that further modifications may nowsuggest themselves to those skilled in the art, andit is intended tocover such modifications as fall within-the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is: t

1. In a collapsible wardrobe characterized by an elongatedrectangulartube having a flap closure for one end and an open end, thecombination therewith which comprises two inside cleats of length equalthe height said tube and secured to opposed side panels thereof, theentire contacting surfaces between said cleats and said side panels inthe region of the open end of said tube being intimately bonded byadhesive, notches in the ends of said cleats at the open end of saidtube having dovetail configuration, a hanger bar having a configurationcomplementary with said notches of length equal to the distance betweensaid panels and closure means for said open end.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which said notches extendinto said tube with smaller lateral dimension on the inside thereof thanadjacent said panels.

3. Combination set forth in claim 2 in which the lateral dimension ofsaid hanger bar nominally is approximately equal the greatest lateraldimension of said notches to provide shoulders for hearing against theinside faces of said cleats.

4. In a collapsible Wardrobe characterized by an elongated rectangulartube having a flap closure for one end and an open end, a combinationtherewith which comprises two inside cleats of the same height as saidtube secured to opposed side panels thereof, the entire contactingsurface area between said cleats and said panels being intimately bondedby adhesive, dovetail notches in the ends of said cleats at the open endof said tube, hanger bar means of length equal to the distance betweensaid panels andof depth equal to the depth of said notches and adaptedat the ends thereof to register with a forced fit in said notches, andclosure means for said open end adapted to contact said hanger bar meansat the upper ends of said cleats.

5. In a collapsible wardrobe characterized by a rectangular tube havinga flap closure for one end and an open end, the combination whichcomprises two inside cleats of length equal the inside height of saidtube and secured to opposed side panels thereof, the entire contactingsurface between said cleats and said side panels in the region of theopen end of said tube being bonded by adhesive, the ends of said cleatsat the open end of said tube having inwardly directed dovetail notches,a hanger bar having ends of shape complementary to said notches and oftotal length equal the spacing between said panels and positioned insaid grooves with a press fit, one side of said tube being embossed forfolding along a line parallel to said bar at a point spaced from saidopen end substantially below said hanger bar and two corners of saidtube scored from the extremities of said line to said open end to permitready access to said hanger bar, and a closure means for said open end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS761,103 Richards May 31, 1904 1,943,044 Stone Jan. 9, 1934 2,031,477Gianriinoto Feb. 18, 1936 2,054,764 Berkowitz Sept. 15, 1936 2,065,133Heppenstall Dec. 22, 1936 2,107,828 Krantz Feb, 8, 1938 2,122,999 BurkeJuly 5, 1938 2,455,739 Curtis Dec. 7, 1948

